Onigokko

Chapters

Rumor
Monsters
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Rumor

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek.

Onigokko
By GWFan (The Softcore Brony)

It was a typical morning in Ponyville. If only that didn't include long lectures in a classroom. Apple Bloom was only half interested in what Cheerilee was saying. Why did they have to have school on Nightmare Night? Worse yet, they were going to have class the next day too, meaning Apple Bloom would have to go to bed at a decent time. If only Nightmare Night hadn’t fallen on a Monday this year.

“Well class it’s almost time to go, so in honor of Nightmare Night I thought I would tell you a little history lesson about a real ghost town,” Cheerilee announced.

Ghost town? Apple Bloom perked her ears and most of her classmates did too. Of course, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked just as bored as they always did. It was amazing that either of them managed to get good grades.

“Now most of us know about the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters in the Everfree Forest, but why do you suppose it is there? After all, some ponies believe that Everfree is actually outside of Equestria because of its unnatural elements such as plants that grow without ponies. During the ancient rule of Discord, this location is where our Princesses, Celestia and Luna, set up their secret home away from the tyrant so they could search for a way to stand up to his evil rule without him noticing.”

Diamond Tiara groaned. “What does any of that have to do with a ghost town?”

“I’m glad you asked, Diamond Tiara. Many centuries after Discord’s defeat, there were some ponies who believed that Everfree was actually a sacred place and that the ancient castle should be restored and reinstated as the real castle of Princess Celestia. So, around a hundred years ago, a large group of ponies tried to build a town nearby so that they could fix up the castle. The new residents were made up of mostly male ponies from Ponyville, so the town was called Bronyville. These ponies built up quite a fantastic town over the next ten years, one even larger than our own Ponyville because the residents were intent on rivaling Canterlot. However, the town was mysteriously abandoned shortly thereafter and nopony knows why. It was as if the residents just up and left and were never heard from again. Even today, the town still sits there, completely deserted.”

“I’ve heard of the town before. There’s some really cool rumors about it too,” The ever-astute Twist said.

“Ah, the rumors of Bronyville. Seems you really know your history as always, Twist.”

Abruptly the school bell rang.

“Well I guess we’ll have to save that lecture for another time. Class dismissed. And have a wonderful Nightmare Night my little ponies.”

Happy that class was finally out, Apple Bloom got out of her seat and pulled on her saddlebags. Twist turned around in her seat and smiled joyfully.

“Apple Bloom, wasn’t that lecture swell?” Twist said excitedly with her usual lisp.

“I guess. It’s just a deserted town though.” The lecture hadn’t been as interesting as Apple Bloom had hoped. The fact that anypony had thought to build a town in Everfree was perhaps the most interesting thing about it and that wasn’t saying much in the end. That and the residents had apparently disappeared.

Apple Bloom and Twist walked out of the classroom and into the playground where they were greeted almost immediately by Apple Bloom’s best friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

“It’s finally Nightmare Night! This is going to be so fun,” Scootaloo said.

“Not as much fun as we’re going to have.”

Apple Bloom turned her attention to Snips and Snails who walked over just then. Snips was all smiles.

“No pony is going to beat the prank I’m going to play this year.”

“I bet Pinkie Pie already has you beat and you just don’t know it,” Apple Bloom retorted.

“We’ll see about that. I’m going to beat her this year for sure,” Snips said confidently.

“Oh yeah? If you don’t then maybe you should go to the ghost town.” As long as she knew about it, Apple Bloom figured she might as well make use of her ghost town knowledge to try to scare him.

“Ghost town?” Sweetie Belle said intrigued. “What ghost town?”

“Ever heard of Bronyville? The scariest of scary ghost towns ever?” Apple Bloom said, having too much fun with the idea.

“You mean that abandoned town in Everfree?” Scootaloo said.

“Nopony has been there for years. What’s so great about that town?” Snips said annoyed.

So much for having fun with it. Apparently, some of the other teachers had decided to lecture on it as well.

“I’ve heard about Bronyville,” Snails suddenly spoke up. “I know a really scary rumor.” The others all looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“Really? You actually know something interesting?” Scootaloo said in amusement.

Snails lowered his head and spoke a little above a whisper. “I heard that if you go to the ghost town at midnight and play tag, something will happen.”

“Tag? What’s so special about tag?”

“That’s the cool thing. They say somepony will already be ’it’ when you get there.”

“What do you mean somepony? Who? And what’s supposed to happen when you play?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

“I don’t know who, but I heard it’s something dangerous. What’s more, once the game starts, you can’t stop playing till it’s over.”

Apple Bloom gulped. “Or else what? What happens if you stop playin’?”

Snails shrugged. “Beats me. It’s just something that I heard.”

“I heard that rumor too!” Twist said excitedly. “They say ponies who go to Bronyville and play the game never come back. I heard that monsters come and take you away.”

“That’s not a rumor,” Scootaloo guffawed. “Everypony knows that monsters live in Everfree. We saw that cockatrice there before. And Rainbow Dash told me about a manticore that lives there too.”

“Yeah, but what happens at the ghost town is supposed to be different. You know the game of tag Snails mentioned? It automatically starts if seven ponies all go to the town square at midnight. Isn’t that awesome?”

Apple Bloom looked quizzically at her friend. “I didn’t know you liked rumors, Twist.”

“I love them. They’re just swell. Hey, you want to find out if the rumor is true?”

“You mean actually go and play the game?”

“Go to some old forgotten town just to play tag? That’s dumb,” Scootaloo said annoyed.

“But it might be fun. I wanna go find out if the rumor is true tonight. You guys wanna come with me? I’ll even make some sweets.”

“We can’t go tonight,” Apple Bloom apologized. “Did you forget? It’s Nightmare Night.”

“That’s all the more reason to go. Doing something scary on Nightmare Night is part of the fun. What do you say?”

“We can’t. We’re all gonna be trick or treatin’. Aren’t you going with us?”

“Well, I do want to, but I really thought it would be cool to check out Bronyville,” Twist said disappointedly. Then she turned to Snips and Snails. “What about you guys? You wanna go?”

“And miss Nightmare Night? No way. I’m going to play the king of all pranks tonight. Even Pinkie Pie is going to be impressed,” Snips said.

“Besides there’s all that free candy and food,” Snails said.

“Speakin’ of which, I gotta get goin’. I promised Applejack I’d help make candy apples this year. She’s even gonna make homemade caramel this time.”

“Your sister always makes the best candy apples. I can’t wait,” Scootaloo said excitedly.

“Wait till you see the costume my sis made for me this year. It’s going to blow you away,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Not as much as my prank is going to,” Snips added.

“Candy.” Snails drooled in delight.

The group of foals walked off, minus one rather distraught filly with curly red hair.

“What’s the fun of Nightmare Night if you don’t do something real scary?” Twist said to herself. She had wanted to check out the ghost town ever since she heard bout the rumor and had thought her best friends would be thrilled to go, especially on Nightmare Night. Even if she couldn’t go with her friends though, Twist realized she was still at school and there were other kids still around.

Twist flagged down the first two fillies that walked by her. “Sunny Days, Peachy Pie, do you guys wanna do something really scary tonight?”

Apple Bloom yawned at her desk in school. She had stayed up too late and eaten too much candy to sleep even after she had gone to bed. All the excitement surrounding the surprise arrival of Princess Luna hadn’t helped either. Apple Bloom had wanted to stay home, pretending to be sick, but Granny Smith wouldn’t have it. Apple Bloom yawned again as Cheerilee checked off the roll sheet.

“Hmm. That’s strange. Twist is absent,” Cheerilee said aloud.

That was strange. Apple Bloom was almost certain that Twist hadn’t been absent all year. Come to think of it, probably not in the last two years.

Cheerilee glanced around the classroom and looked back at her roll sheet. “Four students absent today? Is there a cold going around that I don’t know about?” She set the roll sheet down and scratched her head. “Well maybe they’re just coming in late after all the festivities yesterday. We’ll give them ten extra minutes before we start class.”

Apple Bloom lay her head down on her desk, figuring she could use the ten minutes to sleep. Something however itched at the back of her mind. There had never been more than two students absent at a time in the past and Twist was never absent. Yesterday was Nightmare Night and Twist… Apple Bloom hadn’t seen Twist all night. Where else would she be other than in Ponyville?

Apple Bloom raised her head with a start. “Bronyville?”

“Oh please. Don’t remind Cheerilee about that stupid lecture,” Diamond Tiara said in annoyance.

“I wasn’t,” Apple Bloom replied angrily. Still, Twist had been interested in Bronyville. She wouldn’t have gone there last night would she?

Apple Bloom walked outside and gulped. All the classes had been let out to an early recess so the teachers could have a brief conference. Just before she had walked out, Apple Bloom had overheard the principle mentioning to Cheerilee that there were three other students who hadn’t shown up for school. Counting her class, that was seven absent students. The game Snails and Twist had mentioned required seven. Twist couldn’t have gotten six other kids to go to the ghost town could she? Not on Nightmare Night. Then what were the teachers talking about?

Feeling worried, Apple Bloom looked around the playground and spotted Scootaloo. She was talking to Snips who didn’t look very happy. As Apple Bloom got closer, she realized why. Scootaloo was actually laughing at him.

“That was the best prank ever.” Scootaloo fell over from laughing.

“Aw shut up. It was only because Rainbow Dash scared me and ruined it. That’s all.”

“Yeah. Right onto your face when you screamed!”

“Scootaloo, have you seen Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom said as soon as she reached them.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said in between laughs. “There she is coming this way right now.”

Sweetie Belle raced over to them as fast as she could. “Girls! Girls! I just heard the scariest thing,” She said, panting. “I just overheard the teachers talking. They said that some of the parents came over looking for their kids. There are seven kids who are missing.”

Apple Bloom gaped and her ears drooped. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. And yet…

“I bet they’re not missing,” Scootaloo said. “They just stayed out all night and slept over at somepony’s house. They’re probably waking up right about now thinking that their in for a heap of trouble.”

“I don’t know about that,” Apple Bloom said. “Twist is one of those missin’ kids. She would never class and she’d never do somethin’ silly like oversleep either.”

“Twist is missing?” Sweetie Belle said in surprise.

“Are you sure?” Scootaloo asked.

“And those six other kids that are missin’, I think maybe Twist convinced’em to go to Bronyville.”

“Twist wouldn’t do something like that. Would she?”

“She asked us to go to Bronyville yesterday. She wanted to go.”

“Are you still talking about that stupid ghost town?” Silver Spoon suddenly interrupted. She and Diamond Tiara approached them rather haughtily.

“What kind of loser wants to hang out in a ghost town?”

“The brave kind. That’s who,” Scootaloo answered.

“Whatever. It’s just a stupid town. There’s not even anything there.”

“There is if you play tag,” Snails suddenly appeared from behind the slide. His mouth was covered in chocolate.

“Are you eating my chocolate bar?” Snips asked him sternly.

“No… Maybe…”

“Tag? Tag is stupid too,” Diamond Tiara said.

“You two think everything is stupid,” Scootaloo retorted.

“Well tag really is stupid. It’s a game for poor kids and babies.”

“Not if you play it in the ghost town,” Snails repeated.

“Are you kids talking about Onigokko?”

The young ponies all turned when Cheerilee approached them.

“Oni… what now?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Onigokko. That’s what the game of tag in Bronyville is called.” Cheerilee smiled as usual, though not as brightly as she normally did. “I guess those rumors are still going around huh?”

“You know about the rumors Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie Belle asked her.

“Those rumors have been around since I was your age. Probably longer.”

“Did you ever play Onigokko?” Apple Bloom ventured.

“Oh no. I was scared to death when I first heard those rumors. But now that I’m an adult I can appreciate how fantastic such silly stories really are.” Cheerilee tried to chuckle but her heart didn’t seem to be in it. “Anyway, recess will last for only about ten more minutes, then normal classes will resume.”

“Miss Cheerilee, is it true that those kids who were absent went missin’?”

Cheerilee paused. “Rumors really do spread fast.” She sighed. “Well, we really don’t know that for sure yet. They’ve only been missing since last night and things like this have happened before on Nightmare Night. Kids dare each other to do crazy things like spending the night in abandoned barns and such, so I’m sure the kids are fine. Anyway, don’t worry about it. We’ll get to the bottom of this soon enough. I’m sure of it.”

Cheerilee walked back into the schoolhouse though she did have a faint look of worry painted on her face.

“She’s just saying that,” Scootaloo said. “Adults never tell kids what’s really going on. They always have to sugarcoat everything like they think we can’t handle it.”

“I think Twist and the other kids went to Bronyville to play that Onigokko game. Do you think the rumors might really be true and they were taken away by monsters?” Apple Bloom asked the group.

Diamond Tiara harrumphed. “Monsters? That’s stupid. Didn’t you hear what the teacher said? They’re just silly stories.”

Scootaloo growled loudly. “I’m sick and tired of hearing you call everything stupid. If it’s really so stupid and really so fake then why don’t you play Onigokko? I dare you!”

“Whatever. How stupid. Come on Silver Spoon, I want to play on the swing before recess is over. Not talk about stupid rumors.”

“Stop calling everything stupid!” Scootaloo shouted at them as the two arrogant earth ponies walked over to the swing set. “Arg! They make me so mad.”

“Forget about them. I think Twist and the other students are in real trouble,” Apple Bloom reminded her.

“But what can we do about it?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom finally smiled. “I say the Cutie Mark Crusaders go to the rescue.”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo smiled and then all three of them shouted at the top of their lungs, “Cutie Mark Crusaders, pony rescuers!”

“Come on guys, let’s ask around and see if any of the other kids know anythin’ about Onigokko before recess is over. We might need all the information we can get.”

“Yeah. Then later we can go to Bronyville,” Scootaloo put in.

“Wait! Go to Bronyville?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said simultaneously.

“Sure. It’s just a rumor. You don’t really think there’s a real game? Besides, it’s just going to be the three of us. Apple Bloom, you’re the one who said that Twist might have gone there. I bet she’s still in Bronyville. If we find them, then maybe the adults will take us seriously.”

“I guess. In that case, maybe I can get a map from Twilight. We don’t even know where Bronyville is. I’ll just tell her it’s for a school project.”

“But when are we going to go? If those kids are really missing then my sis isn’t going to let me go anywhere,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Then we’ll go tonight after it gets dark.” Scootaloo told her.

“Okay then, we have a plan. Let’s get to it Crusaders!” Apple Bloom said, raising her hoof.

“Yeah!”

With that, the three fillies raced to different parts of the playground.

Snips stood there, feeling rather dumbfounded.

“What just happened?”

“Chocolate,” Snails said, eating another chocolate bar.

“Are you sure this is good idea? My sister is going to have a cow if she finds out I snuck out of the house,” Sweetie Belle worried.

“Don’t worry about it. We just have to find Twist and the other kids before Rarity even knows you’re gone,” Scootaloo assured her.

“Assumin’ we even find Bronyville. I can hardly read the map.” Apple Bloom squinted in the moonlight wishing she had remembered to bring a flashlight. It was a full moon and yet, since they were in the Everfree Forest, the trees blocked most of the light. As it had been the last time they ventured into the forest, every tree almost looked alive and ready to grab them.

“And assuming we don’t run into any monsters,” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Don’t be such a fraidy cat. If any monsters come jumping out, I’ll take care of them,” Scootaloo said confidently.

“Yeah, like you took care of the cockatrice,” Apple Bloom reminded her.

“That was different. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

“You were runnin’ and screamin’ right along with the rest of us.”

“Hey, I’m not chicken.”

“I didn’t even say you were.”

“Girls, come on. I thought we already decided that our special talent isn’t arguing,” Sweetie Belle complained.

“I wasn’t. I was just sayin’- oof.” Apple Bloom abruptly ran into something that felt like a rock. It took her a minute to realize it was actually an old building. And behind it…

Apple Bloom looked back and forth between the building and the map. “This is it. Bronyville. The ghost town.”

“It’s not as spooky looking as I thought it would be,” Sweetie Belle said, looking around. “It’s not as run down as I thought either.”

“Yeah. It almost looks brand new.”

There was some sign of decay and wear but otherwise it looked to have only been abandoned for a few months, rather than several decades. The roads were paved in some kind of stone instead of dirt like in Ponyville. The buildings for the most part were still in fine order if not a little dirty and the whole town looked as of it could still be lived in.

“So where do we start?” Scootaloo asked, actually sounding a little nervous finally.

“Well, accordin’ to the rumor we need to follow a bunch of signs that spell out Onigokko. When we find the last sign, we should be in the town square. That’s where Twist woulda gone to start the game.”

“I guess that makes sense, but what do the signs look like?”

“Uh… girls?” Sweetie stuttered, pointing a little to their left. There was an old sign on the side of the worn building that read, BRONYVILLE. However, two letters were lit up in neon light. ON.

“There’s electricity?” Apple Bloom said nervously.

“Maybe it’s glowworms?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“That just so happen to light up two of the letters we’re looking for? As if,” Scootaloo said excitedly. “I’m starting to like this rumor. Come on. I’ll bet that silly Twist went this way.”

With Scootaloo leading the way, the three fillies galloped through town, keeping their eyes open for signs. To the right, they saw a street called Much Obliged Lane. A small hole on the side of a broken streetlamp, shown a beam of light that lit up perfectly on the ig. Turning down that way, the fillies eventually saw a business simply called Books. Similarly to the entrance sign, ok was lit up in neon light. After a much longer stretch, the Crusaders saw a restaurant sign hanging over a street that read, Koala Café. As expected, Ko was lit up in neon.

The fillies raced down the street and came upon an open space of paved stone, quite literally square shaped. There was a large set of wooden doors between two pillars and two buildings, over which read, Town Square.

“We found it,” Apple Bloom said excitedly. “Twist!” She called. But there was no answer. “Twist are you here?”

“Please say something Twist! We came to find you!” Sweetie Belle called. Still no answer.

“She’s not here. Now what? It could take all night to search the whole town.”

As if in answer to her question, Apple Bloom heard the sound of hooves beating on the ground. Somepony was running their way. In moments, it was all too apparent.

“What the? Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” Scootaloo said angrily. “What are you two doing here?”

“Duh. You dared us to play that Oni-whatever game and I never lose at truth or dare,” Diamond Tiara said snootily.

“That’s stupid. You came all the way out here just for that?” Apple Bloom said annoyed.

“Well you’re here aren’t you? What are you doing here then?” Silver Spoon asked.

“We’re lookin’ for Twist. She disappeared last night, remember?”

“As if we really cared what happens to that egghead,” Diamond announced as if it were no concern at all.

“Come on. You can’t really be that heartless can ya?”

“What do you mean? I’m the caringest pony there is. I always invite everypony to all my birthday parties.”

“Is there going to be cake?” Another voice asked.

The fillies all jumped and stared when two familiar unicorns walked into the clearing.

“Oh, it’s you guys. I didn’t think you had the guts play this Onigokko thing,” Snips said, walking into the square.

“And what about the cake?” Snails added.

“There’s no cake,” Diamond answered curtly. “What are you losers doing here?”

“We’re going to debunk this rumor,” Snips said proudly.

“Ha. I’m surprised you even know what debunk means,” Silver Spoon mocked.

“Oh yeah? Well, we know lots of things. Right Snails?”

“Yeah. Except math… and literature… and science… and history…,” Snails said, getting quieter and quieter as he listed the various things he didn’t know very well.

“Never mind,” Snips said annoyed. “We still know lots of stuff and we’re going to prove that this rumor is phony.”

“You’re goin’ to play tag?” Apple Bloom asked in surprise. “But ain’t there a bunch of conditions you got to follow first?”

And then it happened. A clock tower to the west of the foals rang out a loud chime. And then another. Then another. Apple Bloom silently counted out twelve chimes before it stopped.

“It’s midnight,” She announced slowly. “And we’re in the town square.” She quickly looked at each of her peers. “Oh my gosh! There’s seven of us too!”

“Don’t get so worked up. Like Cheerilee said, it’s just a silly story. Snips has it right for once,” Scootaloo said, flipping her hoof nonchalantly.

“Yeah,” Snails chimed in. “Besides, the rules say there has to be seven ponies and there’s clearly eight.”

The foals all stared at him.

“Is your head on straight? Who’s number eight?” Diamond asked him angrily.

Snails pointed towards the large wooden doors that towered over them. Standing in front of the doors was a foal-sized pony wearing a strange white mask.

“Who’s that? When did that pony get here?” Silver Spoon asked in surprise.

“Wait a minute. I know that hairdo,” Apple Bloom said, taking a good look at the small pony. “Twist? Is that you?”

Except for the mask, it certainly looked like Twist with her curly red hair and amberish grey coat. However, she didn’t answer. She stood silently as if waiting for something.

“We’ve been looking all over for you Twist. What are you wearing that mask for?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Whoa! Backwards brain fart!” Snails suddenly announced. “That mask reminds me of our mythology lesson last week. That looks like a human.”

“Human?” Apple Bloom asked, vaguely remembering the lesson. “Twist, what’s goin’ on? Why are you in that getup? Nightmare Night is over.”

Again, Twist was silent. But only for a few moments.

“Ready or not, here I come,” She said with her typical lisp.

Apple Bloom stared in confusion. Before she could say anything though, the giant wooden doors slowly opened with a loud creak and crack. As they did, Twist ran through, looking back only once before she disappeared in the darkness.

“What just happened? Where’d she go?” Apple Bloom finally asked.

“She must be ‘it’,” Snails said slowly. He looked positively terrified.

“Well, that means the game started right? So… let’s play then,” Diamond Tiara said slowly though her voice sounded a little unsteady.

“Are you sure about this?” Silver Spoon asked nervously.

“Of course I am. I never lose at truth or dare.”

“No way. We can’t play Onigokko. Twist said monsters come and take you away,” Sweetie Belle reminded them.

“Fine. Don’t play. If you’re chicken.” Diamond started to squawk like a chicken.

“Who’s a chicken?” Scootaloo barked. “I’m no chicken.”

“But what about the rumor?” Sweetie Belle said worriedly.

“Forget about the rumor. We came here to find Twist, remember? Cutie Mark Crusaders, pony rescuers,” Apple Bloom said confidently. “Besides, Twist is a really smart pony. I bet this is all somethin’ she set up just for fun. She wanted us to play the game…,” The confidence slowly left Apple Bloom’s voice. “She just rigged the gate somehow, that’s all. I’m sure there ain’t any real monsters in there.”

“That’s right. It’s just a silly rumor,” Snips added. “Come on Snails, let’s prove the rumor wrong.”

Snails gulped. “I wanna go home.”

“If you want to walk back all alone then be our guest. We’re playing tag.” Diamond smirked at Snails.

The young unicorn looked around nervously. It was clear he didn’t want to walk through Everfree by himself but the idea of actually playing Onigokko was a lot scarier.

“Don’t worry Snails. It ain’t real,” Apple Bloom tried to comfort him.

“It sure looks real,” He replied.

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes and walked through the gate followed closely by Silver Spoon.

“Come on. We’re not going to let those two show us up, are we?” Scootaloo said, urging them on. She, Apple Bloom, and Snips bravely crossed the threshold of the gate. Sweetie Belle and Snails looked at each other and quickly followed their friends.

The other side of the gate was quite different from the rest of the dreary town. Many streets and signs were lit up with electricity. The buildings not only looked more modern, but in perfect living condition. As the foals walked further in, a light fog settled on the city, making the lights glare at them through the mist.

“This is weird. I thought Bronyville was supposed to be abandoned,” Sweetie Belle spoke up.

“Maybe somepony forgot to turn the lights off before they left,” Apple Bloom said nervously.

“Forget the why. We just have to find Twist and the other kids, right? We can ask Cheerilee or Twilight about it sometime,” Scootaloo said.

They all stopped when they heard a high-pitched scream.

“Snails? For Celestia’s sake, you scream like a girl,” Scootaloo scolded him.

“What’s that!?” He pointed to something on their left.

The four other foals raised their eyebrows in wonder. A large wooden sculpture, a little under the size of a one-story house, stood behind a broken glass window in an unnamed shop. It looked sort of like a giant monkey. It was in a sitting position, seemingly staring at the sky. On its back, there was another wooden sculpture, a rather limp looking thing the same size as Snails. It almost looked like a big rodent or dog of some kind. Both had remarkable detail.

“That ain’t nothin’. It’s just a big old statue… thing.” Apple Bloom had to admit though, it didn’t look so much carved as it seemed put together like a toy robot. Its various pieces were set together almost like joints, giving it the appearance that it could actually move. “Modern art. That’s all.”

“I don’t like this,” Snails whined.

“Don’t be such a scaredy-pony,” Snips said angrily. “We’re here to solve this rumor, remember?” He picked up a rock and tossed it at the statue, hitting the monkey dead-on in the head. “See, it’s just a dumb statue.”

“Come on guys. Let’s catch up to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. I don’t want them to find Twist before we do. They’ll gloat about it for a billion years.” Scootaloo said, walking away from the store. However, she didn’t walk very far before she stopped. “Hey, which way did they go?”

The buildings around them stood tightly packed and five streets lay out before them, none of them particularly well lit. The two snobby fillies could have gone down any of them.

Apple Bloom walked up next to her and peered down each of the streets. “I don’t know. We’ll just have to pick one.”

“We’ll do it this way. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe!” Snips pointed down the fourth street.

“You coulda figured that without sayin’ it,” Apple Bloom said annoyed.

“Yeah, well…,” Snips couldn’t think of anything to say. “That’s just the way it is.”
“What if they went a different way?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Well…,” Apple Bloom peered down the streets again. “Okay, Snips, you and Snails go down that one you picked and the three of us will try a different street. Let’s say we meet back here in one hour.”

“Sounds good to me I guess. This is just like a spy story,” Snips answered excitedly.

“I still want to go home,” Snails wailed and followed his friend down the fourth street.

“What do you guys say? Go straight ahead?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to split up?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“If nothin’ else, maybe we’ll find the missin’ kids faster this way. Come on Sweetie Belle. There’s nothin’ to be afraid of.”

With Twist and the others in mind, the Cutie Mark Crusaders braved the third street. However, none of them noticed the large orange eyeball that had appeared on the small rodent-like statue, watching them leave.

Monsters

Apple Bloom sighed, looking left, right, left again, and straight ahead. For the third time she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle had come to an intersection. Unfortunately, none of the streets looked much different from another, other than the names printed on lit signs that seemed all out of order. 5th St. intersected with 10th St. Earlier 33rd St. had suddenly become 5th and intersected with 49th St.

“I don’t get it. How is this even tag?” Apple Bloom finally asked. “If Twist is really supposed to be ‘it’ then why are we tryin’ to find her? Shouldn’t she be chasin’ us?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not playing tag just because Twist wants to. We’re bringing everypony back even if we have to drag them the whole way,” Scootaloo said as she continued down 5th Street. “Let’s just keep going this way. Maybe we’ll find the other side of Bronyville or something.”

Having no reason to argue, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed. Other than the sounds of their hooves on the pavement, Bronyville was eerily quiet. No crickets chirped, owls didn’t hoot, they couldn’t even hear the wind blowing through the trees around the city. The soft buzz of streetlamps and neon signs had become little more than white noise in their young ears.

“This town makes no sense,” Apple Bloom spoke up again, as she noticed a sign telling her that 5th had become 19th somewhere along the way. “The streets are confusin’ and all the buildings are so close together, a rat couldn’t squeeze through. It’s like we ain’t got a choice but to follow the road.”

Sweetie Belle whimpered. “I just remembered one of the rumors said the town becomes a maze after the game starts.”

“What, you mean the buildings moved or something? That’s silly,” Scootaloo said.

“Why would anypony build a town like this then?” Apple Bloom asked, noting a mandatory right turn onto North Pkwy. “Whoever mapped it out did a terrible job.” They rounded the corner and stopped. “See what I mean? Who makes a street that dead-ends at somepony’s house?”

Actually, rather than a house, it looked like a tall apartment building. The one thing about it that was different from all the other buildings they had passed was that the front door was left wide open.

“Do you think we should go in?” Scootaloo asked.
“Why? It looks spooky in there,” Sweetie Belle answered.
“Maybe the other kids are in there. It’s worth a look.”

The Crusaders stood at the entrance, none of them daring to move, despite Scootaloo’s suggestion.

“Why don’t you go first, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo finally suggested.

“Me?” Apple Bloom said in surprise. “It was you’re idea.” Then she looked up at the building again. It was just a building. A really dark building. Gulping, Apple Bloom poked her head inside and looked around.

The inside was dusty and badly in need of cleaning. Clearly, nopony had been in there for a long time. On the other hoof, perhaps not. That’s when Apple Bloom noticed the ground. It looked like some of the dust had been brushed aside as if small hooves had trod over them.

“I think maybe Scootaloo’s right. Let’s check it out.”

They walked into the open room, which resembled a hotel lobby. Maybe that’s what the building actually was. Following the light hoofprints in the dust, the three fillies made their way down a long stretch of hallway until the tracks turned into a cramped little room. The tracks seemed to end there.

“I can‘t see a thing,” Scootaloo voiced her opinion. The room was dark. They could just make out each other, let alone if the tracks really stopped or not.

“I knew we shoulda brought a flashlight,” Apple Bloom scolded herself. “I don’t suppose you’ve learned how to light your horn yet, have ya Sweetie Belle?”

“Um, I could try.” Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and concentrated. Nothing happened. The little white unicorn grunted, trying to make a spark or anything, but to no avail. All three of them jumped when a light suddenly blared in the window.

“What’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked in alarm.

Scootaloo peered out the window and squinted in the light. “It’s just a big sign. It says welcome.”

Apple Bloom sighed in relief. She had almost started to believe that there was a monster coming to get them. With the light outside, she was able to get a better look around the room and saw something that made her pause in wonder. “Hey, look at that.”

Apple Bloom pointed to something on the side of the wall. Illuminated by the strange light, the fillies examined what appeared to be a picture carved into the wall. The etching was an archaic depiction of what looked like five creatures, one in the center and the other ones surrounding it at four corners like a square. The center creature had a circle around it and actually looked somewhat like a pony. Around each depiction was a series of words, almost completely illegible as if somepony had carved them in a hurry.

“What about it?” Scootaloo asked.

“Look at the one in the middle. Doesn’t that pony’s face look a lot like the mask Twist was wearin’?”

“You’re right,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “What do all those words around it say?”

“I’m not sure. They’re so worn away I can’t hardly read’em.” Apple Bloom squinted. “I don’t know. You think it’s a message left by somepony?”

“I can kind of read some of the other ones,” Scootaloo pointed out.

Apple Bloom examined the four other pictures and saw a larger bolder word directly below each one. “Let’s see… this one says Spider.” Apple Bloom rubbed her hoof over the others, trying to clear away some of the dust. “Whistler… Walker and… Herd.”

The drawings labeled Spider and Walker looked more like ponies, though in rather strange stances seeming to walk on two legs rather than four. The Whistler almost looked like a big two headed dog and the Herd was just a big blob on the wall.
“I can kinda read this part too,” Apple Bloom exclaimed, noticing more words carved underneath the picture. “Um…,” The light outside was slowly dimming and the words were getting even harder to read. “Be… Be warned… Somethin’… game of Onigokko… Somethin’, somethin’, somethin’… they come out… somethin’…,” Apple Bloom rubbed at the carved words again. “Midnight never ends?”

Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor and picked up a small sharp rock that had been left there. She reached up and jaggedly carved out a small line on the wall. It could have easily been the same rock used to make the etching. “Why do you think somepony carved this? Does it mean something?”

“Maybe to scare kids coming to play Onigokko?” Scootaloo suggested.

“Or maybe it’s the missin’ kids tryin’ to have fun with us,” Apple Bloom said, looking at the dust covered ground again. There was a barely visible trail of brushed dust, just like earlier, that led to a door. It was probably a closet. “Twist, Sunny Days, we know you’re hidin’ in there!” Apple Bloom stormed over to the closet. “This better not be a practical joke, Archer!”

Apple Bloom opened the door.

It was a closet, but there was nothing in it. Almost. There was a strange substance on the ground that looked sort of like ketchup. It took Apple Bloom a moment to notice that there was more on the wall. It looked like something had briefly been leaning there. But why would somepony put ketchup…?

Apple Bloom silently closed the door. Looking around her hooves, she saw another set of hoofprints in the dust, only these ones were much larger and seemed to drag across the ground in-between steps. The hoofprints were like Big Macintosh’s, except maybe bigger. It almost looked like whoever had made them had suddenly appeared at the entrance of the room.

“Maybe we should go.” Without waiting for a response from the other two, Apple Bloom walked out of the room and back down the hall. That couldn’t have been blood. Of course it was ketchup. The other kids were just trying to scare them. Apple Bloom tried to convince herself of that as they arrived back in the lobby.

Trying to relax, Apple Bloom glanced around the room and noted another open door that led outside. Just outside in the light fog, she could make out a street that crossed in front of the building. It must have been a back way out.

“Is something wrong, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie asked as Apple Bloom headed for the door.

“Course not. What makes you say that?” Apple Bloom took a few deep breaths. This wasn’t much different from Princess Luna showing up the night before. She was just jumping to conclusions and it had turned out to be fun in the end anyway.

“Apple Bloom, slow down. Do you even know where we’re going?” Scootaloo asked her as they walked out onto what apparently was 7th St.

Apple Bloom hadn’t even realized she was rushing. Rather than explain the ketchup, she retorted angrily, “Of course I don’t know. We ain’t known where we was goin’ since we started this game.”

“Was there something in the closet?”

“No. I woulda said somethin’.”

“Shhh. Listen,” Sweetie Belle hushed them. “Do you guys hear something?”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo perked their ears and listened. They heard a very faint whistling. Somewhere behind them, somepony or something was whistling Pop Goes the Weasel.

“Is that one of the other kids whistling?” Scootaloo asked.

“Wait, whistlin’?” Apple Bloom said, as the noise became louder. “Whistler?”

“Monkey!” Sweetie Belle shouted, pointing up.

“Monkey?” The Crusaders looked up and gaped at what they saw.

Above them, standing on the roof of a building just barely obscured by the fog, was the wooden monkey statue they had seen earlier. Only now, it was breathing. Sitting on its back, the other wooden statue was no longer limp. It sat straight up, staring at them with a glowing orange eye on the left half of its weasel-like face. The other half was covered by a white half-circle mask. It was the smaller statue making the whistling noise.

Just as it finished whistling Pop Goes the Weasel, the monkey statue jumped off the roof and crashed onto the street below, right in front of the three shocked fillies. The statue growled at them, baring sharp wooden teeth and sightlessly staring with empty eye sockets.

“No way,” Scootaloo uttered.

The monkey screamed an angry cry, the force of its breath rushing through the three fillies’ manes like hot wind.

“Run!” Apple Bloom commanded as they all screamed.

The streets on this side of the hotel were much wider than the earlier streets, giving the monstrous statue plenty of room to chase them. Given its size, it gained on them quickly, its wooden feet pounding in the fillies’ ears. It would be on top of them in moments. That’s when they came across the burnt down wreckage of a building.

Right in the middle of the street laid old cindered remains of wood as well as larger pieces that looked to have been knocked over by a wrecking ball. In any case, it was large enough for the Crusaders to get into, but not the giant behind them.

Apple Bloom ducked into some of the debris and kept galloping as a monstrous wooden hand reached inside and grabbed at her. Apple Bloom screamed when she felt a few strands of hair yanked out of her tail, but kept running all the same. She almost screamed again when she ran into someone she didn’t see in the darkness of the wreckage.

“Are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked her frantically.

“Yeah. I’m all right I think. Where’s Scootaloo?”

“I’m not sure. I think she’s on the other side.”

Neither of them had any time to talk. A fist punched through a nearby wall of debris and blindly reached around inside. Sweetie tried to run, but Apple Bloom hushed her and they walked away quietly as the hand grabbed at air behind them.

“I can’t believe it. There really are monsters in the game,” Sweetie Belle whispered almost in a shriek.

“It ain’t a real monster. I’m sure it’s just a big wooden puppet or somethin’ that the other kids are controlin’ from the inside or… or…,” Apple Bloom grimaced. “It ain’t a rumor is it?” Sweetie Belle only shivered in response. “We’re really playin’ Onigokko…,”

The two kept walking further through the old debris until they saw light from the streetlamps again. They paused behind an old decayed plank or maybe it used to be a wall for some room.

“What do we do now? I didn’t hear any rumors about how to win Onigokko. Did you?” Sweetie asked.

“No. We need to find Scootaloo before…,” Apple Bloom trailed off. Whistling. The Whistler was whistling a much slower version of Pop Goes the Weasel. And it was getting closer. And closer.

Sweetie Belle started to scream and break out in a gallop but Apple Bloom put a hoof over her mouth and held her close. She stood up on her hind legs and backed up against the side of the wall. The whistling was just on the other side. Still holding her hoof over Sweetie Belle’s mouth, Apple Bloom gulped when the whistling stopped.

The sound of Sweetie breathing tensely through her nose sounded agonizingly loud. Though she couldn’t see what was happening on the other side, Apple Bloom could hear something sniffing loudly. The monkey?

The two fillies shivered when the monkey statue started to growl. Then they heard something that sounded like a rock bouncing against the wall, followed by Scootaloo’s voice.

“Hey! Hey! Over here! Na, na, na, na, na!” She shouted, taunting the monstrous duo by shaking her tail at them. The Whistler’s single eye zoomed in on the orange pegasus and it whistled the final line of Pop Goes the Weasel. The giant monkey blindly turned its head, let out a scream and bounded in Scootaloo’s direction. Determination in her eyes, Scootaloo made a run for it.

“Scootaloo, no! Come back!” Apple Bloom called.

“I’m not a chicken!” Scootaloo shouted back, disappearing in the fog as the Whistler chased after her.

“I know you’re not!” Apple Bloom cried, running after them, not caring if she ran into the Whistler again. But she didn’t run very far before she was forced to stop. She had come to another intersection of streets. She couldn’t even hear the monkey statue’s pounding feet on the ground. She had lost the monster and Scootaloo.

Snips and Snails wandered aimlessly through the back alleys of Bronyville. They hadn’t come across anything particularly interesting and nothing that proved the game was fake, other than the fact that nothing had happened yet.

“Twist?” Snails called softly. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

“It’s tag, not hide and seek,” Snips said annoyed. “And anyway, I’m starting to think that Twist is messing with us. She’s jealous cause she knew my trick was going to be awesome.”

Snails only answered with a whimper, turning his head back and forth, watching for monsters. He had convinced himself that the rumor was true and monsters would come out to grab them at any moment.

“Come on Twist! I’m calling your bluff!” Snips yelled into the darkness.

“Shhh. Not so loud. The monsters will hear you,” Snails whispered.

“There are no monsters.”

“Remember the Ursa Minor?”

“That was different. This isn’t a cave.”

“But it’s Everfree. I heard there’s a hydra somewhere in the forest.”

“What, another rumor?”

“I heard it from Fluttershy.”

Snips stopped. Fluttershy wasn’t the sort of pony to make anything up. There was a hydra?

“Well… I’m sure hydras don’t live in towns. Besides, how often do you see monsters in Ponyville? Towns are perfectly safe.”

“Remember the Ursa Minor?” Snails repeated.

“That was our fault. Monsters don’t live in towns,” Snips pointed out and turned down another alleyway. He and Snails both startled when they saw something in front of them.

There was a small pony huddled on the ground. Based on her size, she must have been a foal only old enough to be in kindergarten at best. She lay there, shuddering.

“Is that one of the missing kids?” Snips asked.

“I’ve never seen her around Ponyville before,” Snails replied.

“Hey kid, are you lost?” The little pony didn’t speak and hardly moved. Snips approached her, wondering if she needed help. “Don’t worry, Snips and Snails are here to rescue you.” Snips said as manly as he could. The little pony opened her eyes. The two young unicorns both stared. Though her eyes looked like any other pony’s, they glowed a mysterious orange.

The little pony stood up on her hind legs and slowly raised her front hooves as if intending to hug them. What started as two forelegs became four and then six. Including her hind legs, she had eight legs. Then she smiled and started to sing in a very haunting voice.

Little girl kills and she doesn’t know why. She is the spider and you are the fly.

Snips and Snails both shuttered when they saw fangs behind her grin.

“I think she’s talking to you,” Snails said nervously.

“No, she’s talking to you,” Snips retorted, backing up slowly.

The strange pony giggled playfully and cart wheeled into a hoofstand.

In her web, you wiggle and squirm. You can’t get away, the spider holds firm.

“I uh… I think we should go,” Snips suggested. Snails didn’t answer. Instead, he started running away without him. “Hey, don’t leave me behind!”

Snips dashed after him, propelled by fear. Fear also compelled him to take a quick look back at the spidery pony, just as she lifted into the air and disappeared in the shadows against the buildings that surrounded the alley. What was she? A monster? They had come to Bronyville to prove the rumor wrong, not true.

Wait!

Snips skidded to a halt. Where had the little pony just gone exactly? He cowered on the ground, looking up this way and that. She wasn’t just gone was she?

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Your lives to take, the spider, she must.

A new bout of fear sent Snips galloping again, crying for Snails who had run somewhere ahead of him. He couldn’t even see Snails anymore.

“We have to get out of here!” Snips yelled more to himself. How far ahead had Snails gone? “Snails!” He cried again.

“Snips!?” A small light lit up a ways ahead of him. Snails had stopped and lit his horn. Feeling relief that he hadn’t been left behind, Snips ran for the light.

That’s when a shadow dropped down from the sky.

Snips stopped and gaped when the eight-legged pony dropped on top of Snails, upside-down no less, and flew back into the air with the screaming unicorn in her grasp.

“This is stupid,” Diamond finally said after she and Silver Spoon had walked through mazes of Bronyville’s streets for almost thirty minutes. “Stupid Scootaloo and Twist. This Onigokko thing is totally lame.”

“I can’t believe they talked us into this,” Silver Spoon said in annoyance. “They’re probably laughing at us somewhere.”

“Oh yeah? Well we’ll show them. Why don’t we turn the tables and scare them?”

“How?”

Diamond looked around. As it happened, they were standing outside a building that looked like an old school house. “Let’s hide in there and wait for them to come by. Then we’ll jump out and scare them back to Ponyville.”

Snickering at their somewhat childish plan, the two fillies tiptoed into the building… and stopped. Inside was rather dark. Unlike the streets, there weren’t any lights on. As if the streetlights and neon signs outside didn’t even exist, only moonlight shown through the windows. Dust covered the floor and what little light there was, illuminated traces of cobwebs in the corners across the ceiling.

“I hate school. At least ours doesn’t look like this.” Diamond Tiara almost sneezed from the dust in her nose.

“Maybe we should scare them in here instead. Could you imagine how scared they would be if we made them spend the night?”

“That would be the perfect revenge after making us play this fake game.”

“It’s a plan.”

The two girls locked hooves in their traditional cheer. “Bump! Bump! Sugar-lump, rump!” They both laughed. But the laugh was short-lived when they noticed the thing in the doorway.

Standing where they had come in was something that looked like a pony, only it was standing on its back hooves. Its mane and tail were ragged and looked to be silver in the dim light.

“Wh-what are you looking at? Are you trying to scare us? Because it’s not going to work,” Diamond Tiara yelled at it.

The strange pony didn’t speak. It’s odd, beady orange eyes shown through a tiny white mask that fit over its face like glasses.

“Uh…uh… Diamond…?” Silver Spoon rapidly tapped her friend on the shoulder and pointed.

“What?” She replied angrily. Then she followed Silver Spoon’s hoof. The pony was carrying a twisted, metal, baseball bat in his right hoof.

Without a word, the pony took a big step forward. His hoof hit the ground with an enormous thud. Then he took another step, slightly dragging his hoof across the ground before raising it and stomping down. As he took a third step, the metal bat scraped along the ground, grinding in the two fillies’ ears. One more step and the pony lifted the bat.

Neither filly realized they were gaping as the pony took a fifth step towards them.

“G-g-g-get away… Get away from us. You’re going to get in a lot of trouble with my dad if you don’t-”

The pony took another step, swung the bat sideways and shattered a window.

The two young earth ponies screamed at the top of their lungs and ran, not daring to look at the voiceless pony behind them.

They dashed down the hallway of the school in terror. On their right side, the hallway was lined with windows. On the other, a seemingly endless line of doors ran out in front of them. Finally out of breath, the two fillies stopped.

“Did we lose it?” Diamond asked, looking back into the darkness. Still breathing hard, they watched and waited until… hoofsteps. Slowly and in no hurry, hoofsteps grew closer. And then…

The fillies cringed when they heard the sound of a window breaking. A few more hoofsteps later, another window crashed. The voiceless pony must have been breaking more windows with his bat. Windows continued to shatter as the hoofsteps closed in.

“It’s coming,” Diamond wailed, barely in a whisper.

“Quick, hide!” Silver Spoon opened a door and pulled her friend inside, closing it quietly. They had stepped into a small classroom that might have been used as a science lab at some point. They were shocked to see that the windows in the classroom were boarded up, giving them no way out but back into the hallway. Another window shattered in the hall.

The two fillies sat against the door, holding each other as the sound of breaking glass echoed closer and closer. Even behind the door, the voiceless pony’s hoofsteps were loud and clear as rain. Diamond and Silver Spoon shut their eyes tightly as a window shattered just on the other side of the door.

Silence.

No hoofsteps. No breaking windows. Nothing.

The only sound the fillies could hear was their own muffled breathing. Seconds ticked by. A full minute. Two minutes. Diamond Tiara lost track somewhere after two and a half. At least four minutes must have gone by before either of them had the courage to open their eyes.

“Is it gone?” Diamond asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know.” Silver Spoon looked up at the door and saw a tiny square window in it. “Take a look.”

“No way. You take a look.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You have to. We’re friends aren’t we?”

Why did Diamond Tiara have to play that card? Gulping, Silver Spoon stood up.

“Fine. Give me a boost. I can’t reach.”

Diamond groaned quietly as she boosted Silver Spoon onto her back. “Do you see anything?”

Silver Spoon cautiously peered through the small window and looked around. The window outside the door was indeed broken but there was no sign of the voiceless pony with the twisted baseball bat.

“I think it’s gone.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here. I’ve got a thing or two to say to that stupid Scootaloo.”

“No. Let’s stay and hide.” Before Silver Spoon could protest any further, Diamond dropped her and opened the door. “Please, let’s hide!”

Diamond Tiara stepped out into the hallway and looked both ways. “That pony is gone. Come on. Don’t be such a scaredy-pony.”

Silver Spoon warily walked into the hallway and saw that it was clear. Every window down the way they had come was broken, up to the one in front of the door. Where in the world had that strange pony gone?

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s get out of here,” Diamond commanded and closed the door.

Silver Spoon screamed and pointed.

Diamond Tiara looked behind her. She was too frightened to make a sound. Standing behind the door was the voiceless pony. Before Diamond Tiara thought to run, the pony swung his bat.

Snips peered out of the trashcan he had been hiding in. The spider pony was gone. But so was Snails. The last thing Snips had seen of him was when the strange pony had dropped from the sky on top of him and took him away.

Snips’ stomach turned in knots as he slowly replaced the lid, shivering inside the empty can. He had seen enough. The only thing to do was leave Bronyville and find a responsible adult who could form an angry mob or something. Then they could take the ghost town by storm and stop all this craziness with the little spider. That sounded reasonable enough in his mind.

It didn’t make finding his way out any easier though. Snips had no idea where he was. Every alley looked virtually the same. He would have to find his way back to the main streets again. However, that would mean leaving the safety of his hiding spot too.

Swallowing hard, Snips lifted the lid again and warily looked around. There really wasn’t much to see. The alleyway was littered with trashcans and trash of all sorts. There was little light in the alley and between that and the fog, Snips couldn’t make out the tops of the buildings that surrounded him. A perfect place for the strange spider to hide.

Snips shivered and kept his eyes glued to the shadows above him, as he climbed out of the trashcan and started down the alley, barely watching where he was going. He couldn’t hear her hooves crawling along the walls but he knew she must have been up there somewhere. She had surprised Snails that way. She wasn’t going to get him.

Then something caught Snips attention from the corners of his eyes. Down a narrower alley to his right, he could see light. Light from the main streets! He had found his way out. Snips ran for the light, almost laughing from joy. He just had to figure out which way he had come and find his way back to the big gate.

A dark figure walked into the light and stopped.

Snips skid on his hooves and sat down involuntarily when he got a good look at it. An enormous pony, walking on two legs, had stopped at the front of the alley, turning his head to the left to look straight at him. The first thing Snips noticed was that the enormous pony was carrying something under his left foreleg. Snips blinked. It was Diamond Tiara! She seemed to be out cold, because she didn’t move.

Snips took a single step back. The huge pony slowly raised a twisted, metal, baseball bat. That was the last straw. Snips ran back down the alleyway, screaming nonstop. This was too much. First the spider and now somepony with a baseball bat?

“No more! I want to go home!” Snips galloped randomly through alleyways, half stumbling. He didn’t stop until a strange noise sent him screeching to a halt.

Expecting to see another monster, Snips listened to the noise and realized it was somepony saying, “help.” It sounded like Snails.

Snips tiptoed down the alley, listening for Snails’ voice to tell him where to go. If he was all right, then maybe they could get out together. After all, Apple Bloom had said to meet back in the big intersection. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it must have been close to time by now.

Snails’ voice was pretty close. Snips peered around a corner and saw another empty lane in front of him. But then something told him to look up.

Snips gaped. Snails was tied from head to tail in some kind of spider silk and hanging upside-down from an unseen ceiling.

“Snips… help me…,” he wailed, noticing his friend below. Snails started wiggling, apparently trying to get free. As Snips cautiously approached him, he saw the same eight-legged pony slowly descending a silk line behind Snails. She caressed his face and neck with her hooves, smiling with jagged teeth.

Poor little ponies, you came to play, never again to see the light of day.

She wrapped her hooves around Snails’ mouth and slowly sank her teeth into his neck. He screamed a muffled scream as the spider pony cooed and purred in delight.
Snips gaped at the spectacle, shivering in stark shock. As the little pony let go and trained her eyes on him, Snips fell over, fainting. The last thing he saw before he completely blacked out was the spidery foal slowly descending down to him, accompanied by a haunting melody.

Little girl kills and she doesn’t know why. She is the spider and you are the fly.

Tag...

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran down 24th St. looking for any sign of the other kids. They didn’t dare stop for fear that the Whistler or some other monstrosity would pop out and catch them. Scootaloo had already disappeared and the two fillies didn’t want the same thing to happen to any of their other friends. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t deserve this.

Rounding another blind corner and running down a long street that ran into another intersection, Apple Bloom came to a sudden halt.

“What is it? Do you hear something?” Sweetie Belle asked anxiously, expecting to see a monster jump out of the shadows.

“No, just look around. Don’t you recognize this place?”

Sweetie looked around and smiled. They were in the large intersection that they had originally split up at. They had come down the second street to get there but it was definitely the same place.

“Has it been an hour yet?” Sweetie asked.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think we can wait. Come on. I think we should go back to Ponyville and get some help. I’m sure Applejack and Twilight will know what to do.”

“You want to leave the others here?”

Apple Bloom sighed. “No. But Bronyville is too big. I don’t know how to find anypony and we could run into another monster if we tried. That’s why we should go back and get help.”

Sweetie Belle nodded slowly, understanding the urgency of their situation. If everypony was caught, they would never be rescued. They took off down the street, past the broken window they had first seen a more lifeless Whistler sitting in. Of course, it was empty now.

“Look, I can see the gate up ahead!” Apple Bloom announced excitedly. Silently cheering inside, the two fillies ran through the gateway…

And stopped dead.

“What?” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. Above them stood a large building that looked like an apartment complex. Nearby sat a street sign that read, 7th St. They were back at the hotel again.

“But I don’t understand. We came in this way. I’m sure of it.”

Sweetie Belle gasped. “Oh my gosh! Remember what Snails said? Once the game starts, you can’t stop playing.”

“Does that mean we can’t even get out?” Apple Bloom looked behind her and stared. The big gate was gone. Only fog and a long street they definitely had not come from ran behind her. “I don’t believe it. We’re trapped.”

“No,” Sweetie Belle wailed. “What do we do now?”

Apple Bloom’s mind raced. They were trapped in an enormous maze of a town with at least one monster and possibly more if the etching in the hotel was worth anything. And this was supposed to be some kind of game?

“A game?” She said to herself. “Onigokko is supposed to be a game of tag. Maybe we just have to win the game and it’ll all be okay.”

“But how do we win?”

“We don’t get tagged, that’s all. Maybe we should see if we can find the others after all. Then we can all hide somewhere together until mornin’. I’m sure the game will end by then.”

“What makes you so sure? Look what happened to Twist.”

“I wonder if that really was Twist,” Apple Bloom said more to herself. Surely, Twist would have been smart enough to hide after she saw the monsters. Unless she was caught right away. But if that really had been Twist earlier, then what happened to the other kids? Twist had only said that the monsters take you away. Where did they take them?

“Well, I’m just sure. Come on. Let’s see if we can find our way back to that big intersection again. Maybe Snips and Snails will be waitin’ for us.”

“Do you think if we go back, we’ll find the gate again?” Sweetie asked, indicating the way they had just come.

“No idea.” She didn’t really want to go back through the hotel though, so it sounded like it was worth a try.

Unfortunately, their gamble didn’t bear fruit, and they found themselves at an unfamiliar intersection of 7th and Elm. 7th however, ended, and they had to decide which way down Elm or else go back.

“Do you think it’s unicorn magic or somethin’?” Apple Bloom suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“This maze and that thing with the gate back there. Do think this is done with unicorn magic?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. Everfree seemed like a pretty magical place to begin with, what with the animals that took care of themselves and clouds that moved without pegasi to move them. Perhaps that strange unnatural magic surrounded Bronyville too.

Finally deciding to go right, the two fillies walked the fog layered street, listening for any strange sounds, particularly whistling. Then for a moment, they thought they heard hoofsteps.

“Should we hide?” Sweetie asked nervously.

“Where? There’s nothing-”

Somepony dashed around the corner and barreled them over.

“No! No! Help! Let me go!” The pony screamed.

“Silver Spoon?” Apple Bloom said in astonishment.

“Huh?” Silver Spoon realized she was sitting on top of Apple Bloom.

“Calm down, it’s us,” Sweetie Belle said, barely able to keep her voice from cracking. “Where’s Diamond Tiara?”

Silver Spoon cautiously looked behind her as if expecting something to appear out of the shadows. “She’s gone. The creepy thing got her.”

“What do you mean creepy thing? What happened?” Apple Bloom demanded.

“A big pony. He got her with his bat.”

“Bat? You mean like a baseball bat?” Silver Spoon nodded. “But what happened to her? Did you see what happened?”

“I don’t know. I ran after it hit her.”

Hit her? Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other in shock. Was Diamond Tiara okay? For that matter, they still hadn’t found Scootaloo. And where were Snips and Snails?

Silver Spoon wiped tears from her eyes. “I want to go home. I don’t want to play this stupid game anymore.”

“We already tried. But once the game starts, it’s impossible to leave. There’s no way out,” Sweetie Belle said sadly.

“That’s ridiculous. There has to be a way out,” Silver Spoon shouted at her. “I walked in here and I’m walking out.”

“No, the point of tag is not to get caught. If we want to get out of this, we just have to play by the rules and win,” Apple Bloom explained.

“Which rules? Do know how many variations of tag there are?”

“Huh?” Apple Bloom exclaimed in surprise. “What do you mean? I thought you and Diamond Tiara hated tag?”

Silver Spoon went crimson. “Well… we used to play it a lot when we were younger.” She briefly cleared her throat. “What kind of tag is Onigokko? The game could go on forever because whoever is tagged becomes ‘it.’ Well… unless this is like freeze tag or something.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other. It hadn’t even occurred to them. None of the rumors they had heard had mentioned anything about the specifics of the game other than that it was tag. How did they win if they didn’t know the exact rules?

“I guess we’ll just stick with the plan we’ve got and try to hide somewhere. I don’t know what to say about Snips and Snails but, maybe we should go back to that hotel and hide inside or-”

“No! No buildings! I don’t want to run into the scary pony again.”

“I don’t know which monster you saw but there are other ones outside too. We already met a giant one. Tell her Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle wasn’t paying attention though. She was looking around them as if searching for something. “Do you hear that?”

The two young earth ponies listened. It sounded like rustling leaves.

“What about it?”

“I don’t feel any wind,” Sweetie Belle said slowly. “And I haven’t seen one tree in the whole town.”

The three fillies looked down an alley where the sound seemed to be coming from. They flinched when two tiny orange lights flashed for a moment. Then another pair. And another. Several pairs of orange flashed and approached with the sound of rustling leaves.

“What is that?” Silver Spoon squeaked, slowly backing away.

“I… I don’t…,” Apple Bloom watched the shadows of the alley until another pair of orange lights appeared a few feet in front of them.

The tiny lights moved out of the shadows.

“Oh my gosh…,” Silver Spoon barely said in a weak shrill.

A full sized pony stood before them as dark as the shadows. Its eyes indeed glowed orange. Its mangy mane and tail hung scraggly from its body like old moss on a tree. If it wore an expression, it was completely unrecognizable against the pure blackness of its body.

“Run!” Apple Bloom shouted just as more shadowy ponies emerged from the alley. As it started to chase them, the one they had first seen virtually melted into the ground, becoming one with the shadow of a building. Several others followed its fluid decent.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon ducked around buildings and down long streets to the sound of rustling leaves following closely behind, signaling that the herd of shadows was still chasing them.

“It’s just a bad dream! Wake up! Wake up! Please wake up!” Silver Spoon yelled.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rounded another building but Silver Spoon ran straight, not watching where she was going as she wailed for her nightmare to end.

Realizing what had happened, Apple Bloom skidded to a stop and turned around all in the same motion. “Silver Spoon!” She shouted just as the heard of shadows raced past the intersection.

She saw several pairs of orange eyes peering out of the ground, including a few that looked straight at her, but the river of shadows never wavered, continuing after the screaming filly whom Apple Bloom could still vaguely hear.

“Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking back from where she stood a few paces ahead of her. “What happened? Where did they go?”

“They went after Silver Spoon. I…,” Apple Bloom rubbed her eye trying to hold back tears. “We never should have come here. It’s all my fault. If I had taken Twist seriously, maybe I coulda convinced her not to come and we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She turned away from the intersection. “What are we gonna do Sweetie Belle? Even if we went after Silver Spoon, I don’t know if there’s anythin’ we could do to help her. These monsters are as real as you and me.”

Sweetie Belle looked at the ground. “I don’t know. I wish my sister was here. And Fluttershy, and everypony else. They’d know what to do.”

The two fillies stood there for a few moments thinking about what to do next when a small sound, like a tin can dropping on the ground, alerted their ears.

“What now?” Apple Bloom asked miserably. The sound had come from the direction they had been headed.

Sweetie Belle gulped and backed up to Apple Bloom. Then she whispered, “We should get out of here and hide somewhere.”

“Where are we gonna go? Those shadow ponies are back the other way somewhere and I don’t want to run into them again.”

“But there’s something in front of us too.”

The sound of a trashcan falling over and somepony saying, “Ow!” rang out in the illuminated street.

Apple and Sweetie looked at each other and slowly advanced forward. It certainly didn’t sound like a monster. Then again, the whistling statue and the shadow ponies hadn’t either. A short ways down the street, they saw a trashcan that had tipped over in the fog. Underneath its spilled contents was a pony’s tail. Gulping slightly, Apple Bloom approached the tail and tapped on it.

“Awwwwwww!”

Something jumped out of the garbage and threw itself against the corner of the building.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom exclaimed happily.

“Wha?” Scootaloo rubbed her eyes. “It’s you guys!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle jumped on Scootaloo and hugged her.

“Scoot, you’re all right.”

“Well… yeah! Of course I am,” Scootaloo replied trying to sound confident.

“Wait, what happened to the monster?”

“Oh… the monkey and the weasel? Um…,” Scootaloo looked around. “I’m not sure. I only lost them a little while ago.”

Sweetie Belle paled. “You mean they’re still around somewhere?”

“Maybe?” She shrugged.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie listened for any whistling sounds. All three of them froze for almost a full minute before they sighed in relief. The three fillies spent the next few minutes talking about what had happened since separating. Scootaloo looked ready to bug out when they mentioned the shadow ponies that had chased after Silver Spoon as well as her story about Diamond being hit with a baseball bat.

“I shouldn’t have dared them to come,” Scootaloo said guiltily as they walked down the street looking for a place to hide. “They drive me crazy, but I never wanted them to get hurt. Heck, if they hadn’t shown up, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Don’t blame yourself Scoot. It’s all our faults for thinkin’ we could find the other kids on our own. This is kinda like when we tried to find Fluttershy’s chicken,” Apple Bloom said as they rounded a mandatory corner.

“But I don’t think anypony is going to jump in and save us. No one knows where we are this time,” Sweetie said miserably.

“If it’s our fault then we’ll just have to take responsibility and find Diamond Tiara and the others. It’s the least we can do,” Scootaloo added as they rounded another corner.

“I don’t know. We could try to find em, but…,” Apple Bloom trailed off and stopped.

The three fillies slowly looked up. The monkey statue growled in front of them, saliva dripping from its mouth. The creature sitting on top slowly whistled the last line of Pop Goes the Weasel as it gazed down at them with an orange eye from the unmasked side of its face.

The monkey roared and the Crusaders wasted no time turning and galloping as fast as their legs would carry them. The chase was on and the huge wooden monkey was gaining in its lumbering steps. Its size made closing the gap a small task and Apple Bloom realized that. Then, just like before, she spotted a sanctuary.
“Quick! That way!” She led the way down a side alley that was a bit too small for the giant to follow. Nevertheless, the Crusaders didn’t chance it and kept running to the end of the alley and back onto another street. Though they still had no idea where they were going they kept running down the street under streetlamps and neon signs that almost seemed to taunt them as they raced on. It only ended when Apple Bloom tripped over her own hooves and rolled to a stop.

“Apple Bloom, you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked her, out of breath.

“Yeah. I think so.” Apple Bloom barely had the energy to move. She lay on her back, staring at the sky through the light fog. There were few stars out or so it appeared from the bright city lights around her.

Apple Bloom slowly sat up and looked around. Everything looked the same, buildings that were too close, lit up signs, streetlamps. She saw a sign that read Main St. but it didn’t really help her figure out where in the city they were. Maybe it didn’t matter. They had already discovered there was no way out.

Then all three of the Crusaders perked their ears. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both cringed. Rustling leaves.

“Let’s go,” Apple Bloom said quietly.

“Can’t we rest first? It’s just leaves or something,” Scootaloo panted.

“It’s not leaves,” Sweetie Belle told her.

“Huh?” Scootaloo scratched her head and looked in the direction of the sound. Then, she saw the orange eyes in the shadows of a nearby alley. “Oh man…,”

The three of them turned to run, but the dark mass of shadows moved in quickly.

“Nooo!” Scootaloo shouted when something grabbed her leg.

“Scoot!” Apple Bloom dove for her as something started to drag Scootaloo backwards. She barely caught Scootaloo’s front hoof and tried to pull her back but the shadow was pulling harder. Sweetie Belle grabbed Apple Bloom’s tail and pulled.

Scootaloo stared into her friend’s eyes as she felt more hooves grabbing her back legs and body. “Apple Bloom…,” She struggled.

Apple Bloom held on and pulled as hard as she could. Then Scootaloo’s hoof slipped out of hers.

“Scoot!” Apple Bloom shouted as the young pegasus slipped into the darkness. “Scootaloo! Scoot! Scoot!”

“Ruuuuun!” Scootaloo screamed from the darkness and then went silent.

Orange eyes dotted the shadows, looking at them. Not knowing what else to do, the two remaining Crusaders took Scootaloo’s last word and painfully ran away. They didn’t hear the shadow ponies following them but they ran on anyway, not wanting to chance it.

Apple Bloom’s eyes blurred a little as she felt hot tears welling up inside. Not Scootaloo. Why did they have to take Scootaloo?

“Apple Bloom, we have to hide. We can’t do anything else,” Sweetie told her as they ran on.

“I know. I know,” Apple Bloom replied in a wail.

“We’ll find them in the morning, right?”

Apple Bloom couldn’t answer. What would become of them by morning? She didn’t even know if the others were still alive.

Apple Bloom took a chance look behind them and saw that nothing was following them. She slowed down to a walk and Sweetie Belle did the same. “All right Sweetie Belle. We’ll hide. And we’ll definitely find everypony in the mornin’ when we come back with help.” It was the only thing they could really do.

The two fillies continued their dreary hike down the street when they realized they hadn’t seen any turns on the way. There had been no alleys or open buildings either. They hadn’t seen a sign telling them they were no longer on Main St. How long was this street?

Then, in the dense fog, they saw a tunnel. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and glanced behind them. It was the only place to go and the only thing considerably different from what they had seen so far.

“It’s so dark,” Sweetie murmured. “You don’t think any of the monsters are hiding in there do you?”

“I don’t know.” Apple Bloom gazed up at the top of the tunnel and gulped. “Let’s run.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll run through on the count of three. This is Main St. There’s gotta be somethin’ important through there.”

Sweetie Belle stared at the tunnel worriedly before shutting her eyes and nodding her head.

“One… Two… Three!”

They took off.

The tunnel was so dark and so long that they could only see a small dot of light in front of them. Hardly blinking and never taking their eyes off the light, they galloped as fast as they could. No monsters tried to stop them. No noises tried to taunt them. Nothing but darkness and a slowly growing light. What would they find on the other side?

The two remaining Crusaders charged past the exit with a cry of relief. Then they stopped. The fog was less dense on this side. It was quite apparent that they were standing on a bridge of sorts, with decorative side railings that looked shiny and new. Around them they could see two other hanging walkways, suspended a ways on either side and a good two stories above them. There was one other thing that stood out. At the end of the bridge stood an enormous clock tower.

Apple Bloom stared at the clock tower. It was a bizarre structure looking to be made out of every scrap of junk and trash a city had to offer. Bits of metal, wood, paper, even whole objects like smashed chairs, garden shovels, and objects she had no name for, conglomerated together to form the huge tower. The only thing that looked normal was the clock face itself, but there was still something wrong with it. She had remembered hearing it strike midnight earlier, but the hands on the face hadn’t moved. They were still showing midnight.

That’s when she remembered the words etched on the wall of the hotel. Midnight never ends.

“It can’t be,” She whispered to herself. “It’s impossible.”

“Apple Bloom, look!” Sweetie pointed in front of them. Standing at the base of the clock tower was Twist.

Smiling a little, the two fillies approached her. But they slowed to a stop when they realized she was still wearing the white human mask.

“Twist, we found you. We came to rescue everypony,” Apple Bloom told her.

“Where is everyone? Do you know?” Sweetie asked.

Twist gave no reply.

“Come on Twist. The games over. We were all worried sick about you,” Apple Bloom tried. “This isn’t funny.” Still, no reply. “Twist, please. Tell me it’s all just a silly game and everypony is okay. Please!”

Sweetie Belle put a hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “I don’t think-” They both cringed.

Whistling!

“Twist, come on. We have to hide!” Apple Bloom told her. Twist still stood there as the soft whistling buzzed in the air.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shuttered as the Whistler and its mount walked out from behind the tower, whistling its song.

“Twist…,” Apple Bloom called meekly, but she knew her friend wouldn’t listen to her. Something was wrong with Twist and it had to do with the mask she wore.

Turning away to go back the way they had come, the two fillies froze when a new creature slowly walked out of the tunnel and stood at the entrance of the bridge. It was a huge pony, walking on his hind legs and carrying a twisted baseball bat in his right hoof, his beady orange eyes watching them carefully from his tiny mask.

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie squealed, pointing to the hanging walkway to their left. A peculiar little pony with eight legs and large glowing eyes, sat upside-down from a thread, smiling wildly as she rocked her head from side to side. Directly on the walkway, several pairs of orange lights glared at them through the cracks of the guardrails, rustling with the sound of leaves.

Apple and Sweetie huddled together, watching each monster, until they both put their attention back on Twist. Twist’s hooves glowed in a soft orange and every time she moved them, the Whistler moved its head. Was Twist controlling all the monsters? How?

The Whistler suddenly stopped whistling and the giant monkey statue underneath it started to hoot menacingly, sounding angrier and angrier, working itself up into a frenzy. With a final scream it leapt into the air, hands outstretched towards Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They both screamed and scattered as the monkey came crashing down to the ground on top of them.

Apple Bloom found herself rolling sideways from the force and bouncing off the side rail of the bridge. Feeling horrible pain in her back from where she had hit, Apple Bloom picked herself up slowly.

“Sweetie Belle!” She screamed. The monkey statue had the white unicorn in his massive hand, holding her close as if clutching a prize. Sweetie’s eyes remained closed, apparently either knocked out or fainted from the shock.

“Gall dang it, Twist!” Apple Bloom screamed. Twist merely nodded her head. It couldn’t end this way. After everything else the night had taken away, she wasn’t going to let them have Sweetie Belle too. Throwing all her fear aside, Apple Bloom screamed at the top of her lungs and charged at the monkey statue.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Apple Bloom slowly opened her eyes, wondering if she had been having a nightmare.

“One… two… three… four…,”

Unfortunately, her surroundings were the same as when she charged and the Whistler’s monkey had flicked her away and knocked her unconscious. Who was counting?

“… five… six…,”

“That’s Twist’s voice,” Apple Bloom said to herself.

“… seven… eight…,”

“Twist?”

Twist was standing on her back legs facing the clock tower and counting. Apple Bloom looked frantically around. She didn’t see the Whistler or any of the other monsters lurking about. What was going on?

“… nine… ten. Are you ready?”

“Twist, is that really you?” Apple Bloom asked cautiously. Twist turned around and giggled. She was still wearing the human mask. “I know you’re not Twist. What are you?” Twist slowly walked forward, cocking her head to one side as of she didn’t understand.

“You’re just another monster!” Apple Bloom yelled at her as lightning lit the sky. She raised her eyes and gaped when she saw the time on the clock tower. The minute hand had moved and the clock now read 12:01.

Why? What had changed?

Twist suddenly began to chant. “Who will play tag with me? When we play tag, it’s for all eyes to see. But the fun doesn’t last forever, oh no. That’s why we must play again, this game called Onigokko.”

Lightning danced in the sky, forcing Apple Bloom’s eyes further up the clock tower when something caught her attention. Her eyes slowly widened.

“Sweetie Belle!” She cried.

Sweetie was on the front of the clock tower, held in place by a strange machine. She was still alive, but appeared half dazed, her mane strangely being brushed out by a mechanical hand. What was the point?

“Who will play tag with me? Everypony has been caught!”

More lightning struck and Apple Bloom looked higher up the tower. The other kids, all of them, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, even Snips and Sails were held in place by mechanical bonds. Her eyes raced to Scootaloo. A look of discomfort plastered on her face as she twitched her hooves, trying to get free. A strange set of devices was attached to her and what appeared to be her thoughts were projected onto a screen above her. She seemed to be reliving the talent show where she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle’s rock concert had been misinterpreted as a comedy act.

Silver Spoon and Snips were in much the same situation, only the projection from the machine they were attached to was written out in words as if some strange story was being written based on their lives. Diamond Tiara and Snails were also attached to machines, only these ones were projecting an even stranger thing. Still pictures. Picture after picture was drawn with the two of them in different weird scenarios or just being themselves. Some of them looked more like a comic strip. Why?

Apple Bloom looked even higher up the tower and gasped. There was Sunny Days, and Peachy Pie, and Archer, and the other missing kids. They were apart of machines just like her friends, being subjected to the same bizarre treatment. And around them, yet more ponies of all ages, types, and colors. They too were held by mechanical bonds, but the machines were not active. These ponies didn’t move, looking to be just another random piece of the clock tower.

“I don’t understand!” Apple Bloom yelled. “We don’t live for your amusement! Who says you can toy with us like this!?”

But Apple Bloom received no answer. As she stomped her hoof on the ground several times in frustration, she realized that Twist had moved in front of her.

“Congratulations. You’re the last pony. You won.”

Apple Bloom tried to back away from Twist but her legs wouldn’t move. Something about looking into her mask forced her to hold still.

“Now it’s your turn to find more fun.”

As Apple Bloom stared into the empty eye sockets, a mechanical hand extended from the clock tower and gripped tightly around Twist. Twist reached up and slowly removed her mask. Behind it lay an abysmal darkness interrupted only by a deep perpetual smile.

“Tag. You’re ‘it’!”

Applejack galloped through Everfree, her heart racing from the fear that her little sister Apple Bloom might be lost to her. She couldn’t give up hope and yet Apple Bloom was now among a second set of seven foals who had disappeared in the last two days. The situation had escalated to an emergency that Princess Celestia herself was now investigating.

“I should have thought of this sooner,” Cheerilee called from behind Applejack as the two mares ran on. “The children were talking about that silly rumor and I just didn’t connect the dots until it was too late.”

“It ain’t your fault. Kids will be kids. What’s important now is that we find’em.”

After searching all day throughout Ponyville, Everfree was the only place nearby left to look. The ghost town the kids had been talking about the day before seemed like the best place to begin so Applejack and Cheerilee headed straight there despite the danger. It was already late in the evening and traversing through Everfree was dangerous enough in the daylight, let alone at such a late hour as it was, but Applejack was determined to find her sister alive and well.

“There it is!” Cheerilee informed Applejack as they approached a dark set of buildings just visible in the moonlight. “Let’s try the town square. That’s where the rumor says to meet.”

It didn’t take them long to find it. Several old signs illuminated in the strange Onigokko name, telling them where to go. However…

“Is this it?” Applejack asked, looking at the great wooden gate.

“I think so. I don’t see any of the kids though.”

“Apple Bloom! Scootaloo!” Applejack called.

“Diamond Tiara! Sweetie Belle! Snails!”

“Snips! Silver Spoon!”

The two mares listened. Their hearts skipped a beat when they heard hooves galloping their way. But they were too heavy to be the foals.

“Applejack, is that you?”

Twilight ran into the square, followed closely by Rainbow Dash who flew behind her.

“What are you two doin’ here?”

“Looking for the kids. I gave Apple Bloom a map yesterday that had this abandoned town on it, so I thought they might be here,” Twilight informed her.

Before Applejack could say another word, she heard more hooves coming closer. In moments, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy ran into the square.

“You’re lookin’ for them here too?”

“Yes. Pinkie Pie just remembered hearing about this old town so we thought we might try searching it,” Rarity answered.

The ponies all took a minute to exchange information. None of them had seen any sign that the fourteen missing foals were anywhere around.

Then a clock tower to the west started to chime. The gathered mares counted twelve chimes.

“It’s so late. The kids must be so scared. Maybe their hiding in one of the buildings?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Or maybe in plain sight. Look!” Pinkie Pie pointed out.

Standing right in front of the large wooden gate, a single foal-sized pony seemed to wait, as if wanting them to notice.

“Apple Bloom?” Applejack said, recognizing her sister’s hair bow. “What are you doin’ out here Apple Bloom? You scared us all half to death. Where are the others? Are they all hidin’ out here?”

Apple Bloom didn’t answer. She stood silently, not moving so much as a hair.

“What is she wearing?” Rainbow Dash asked, noting the filly’s face.

“Is that a human mask?” Cheerilee said in astonishment.

“Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked her a second time.

“Ready or not, here I come,” Apple Bloom said as the great wooden doors slowly opened with a loud creak and crack.

The End…

Or The Beginning…